Anti-caking agent

Anti-caking agent is not a marker of ultra-processing. It is one of the markers Open Food Facts uses to classify a food as processed (NOVA group 3).

What it is and why it counts

Anti-caking agents are substances which reduce the tendency of individual particles of a foodstuff to adhere to one another.

Culinary ingredients

These are group 2 ingredients, the kind a cook adds to whole foods. On their own they make a food processed (group 3), not ultra-processed.

Function

Anti-caking agent: Anti-caking agents are substances which reduce the tendency of individual particles of a foodstuff to adhere to one another.

Functional class definitions from the EU food additives regulation, via Open Food Facts.

More about anti-caking agent on Wikidata

Where it turns up

Anti-caking agent appears in 299 of the 40,000 products on this site (1%).

Spices 23 of 303 products
Cheeses 17 of 1,223 products
Instant noodles 15 of 242 products
Dietary supplements 9 of 1,145 products
Grated cheese 8 of 73 products
Instant chocolate powders 8 of 51 products

Products containing anti-caking agent

Showing the 60 most popular of 299.

How the NOVA classification works